There is a story about a soldier who during the Second World War found himself in a small French village.

As he walked around he came upon the Catholic Church. Although the roof had caved in due to the bombing in the village, he could plainly see the sanctuary of the Church. In a niche in the wall of the sanctuary was a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As with those statues, the hands of Jesus are usually extended like this (downward and forward). However, as the roof caved in the two hands of the statue were cut off. Someone had written below the statue, on the wall, I have no hands but yours. I thought of this story, which is one of my favourites, when I first read the gospel for this Sunday (Mark 1615-20), the Ascension. In this gospel Jesus tell us that we are his hands, his mouth, his ears, his feet, and his heart. He sends us forth, as he did his first disciples, to Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. We are part of that apostolic witness. Filled with his life, through our union with him, we share that life with others. We are his witnesses in the world. As I reflected on the gospel this week I could not help but think how this must have affected the disciples. We hear in the First Reading (Acts 1:1-11) from the Acts of the Apostles that farewell with the disciples in Jerusalem. After his resurrection he had appeared to them numerous times and continued to teach them and prepare them for this mission. They heard him, touched him, and even ate with him. He was truly present to them. And now that physical presence ended with his ascension into heaven. His presence was now a mystical, or spiritual, presence. His followers were still united to him spiritually, but they could not see or hear him as they had before his death, and after his resurrection. For all of them, life had changed, but had not ended. Now THEIR mission began. They were to fulfill the will of the Father as Jesus had. They were to carry on the ministries of preaching and healing that Jesus began, and that they witnessed. For us too, that life of Christ is in each of us. Sometimes, though, we may be too timid or cautious to accept that mission. We may be like the disciples in the first reading to which the two angels said, Why are you standing there looking at the sky? We are called to action! Too often many people respond by thinking I am not prepared; Arent there some courses to take in order to do this?, Who am I to do this? We should not put off this mission. We should not frustrate this call of the Lord to all of us. We can all contribute in our own ways to the mission of Christ and his Church. We may look at someone else and say, I could never do that, I am not like that, I dont have those gifts. But, we can each be that person sent by Jesus in our own way, and in our own time, and to our own people. The contribution of each will compliment that of others to bring the fullness of the message and life of Christ to others. In that way we will be fulfilling the mandate of Jesus, like in the gospel of today when he sent forth his disciples and they responded. Through their words and actions Jesus manifested himself, and he will do it again through us, if we take seriously his mandate and do as he has taught us.

The Second Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians (1:17-23) encourages in this mission. He tells us that we are loved and blessed by God, and that he has given us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know, love and serve him. Paul reminds us that Jesus is the head over all things, and that we are parts of his body. Just as each part of the body has a separate and unique function, they all work together for a healthy body. So too, each of us like the individual parts of the body of Christ do our part to build up the body of Christ, the Church, and to share that life with others. It is not only my job (as a priest), it is the job of each person baptized in Christ to do his or her part in the evangelization of the world. Pope John Paul II often spoke of the New Evangelization, and Pope Benedict has renewed that call. That New Evangelization requires that each of us, no matter what our state in life, play a role in witnessing to Christ. We are doing that whether we are aware of it or not daily at home, at work and at school. Everywhere we go, with everyone we meet, and in everything we say and do we are witnessing to Christ and to the kingdom. If we are not witnessing to Christ and the kingdom, what are we witnessing to? Hopefully, it is more than just ourselves and our human life, not forgetting our spiritual life and the mystical and spiritual relationship that we have with Jesus, risen and ascended into heaven. The Feast of the Ascension is not only about Jesus ascending into heaven, to be with his Father, but about what he has left us to do in his name. The readings should make that obvious to us, that the work of Christ continues, the mission of Christ continues, and it does so through us. He tells us (if I can put words in his mouth), I have no hands but yours. At home, are we the hands of Christ bringing understanding and forgiveness? At work, are we the hands of Christ showing good example by using and sharing our time and talents well? At school, are we the hands of Christ creating a positive atmosphere to learn and share? In our relationships and friendships, are we the hands of Christ sharing the Good News and bringing relief and healing through our presence in their lives? We are his hands his mouth, his ears, his feet, and his heart. Let us not keep looking up into the heavens, as the disciples in the First Reading, but let us get about our mission by Going into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.